ZooChat Big Year 2021

Some new insects and birds

Birds
25. Shiny cowbird (Molothrus bonariensis)

Invertebrates
1. Western honey bee (Apis mellifera)
2. Black cutworm (Agrotis ipsilon)
3. Chilean recluse spider (Loxosceles laeta)
4. Common black butterfly (Auca coctei)
5. Bromeliad butterfly ("mariposa del chagual", Castnia eudesmia)
6. Cloudless sulphur (Phoebis sennae)
7. White butterfly (Mathania leucothea)
8. Western painted lady (Vanessa carye)
9. Chilean rose tarantula (Grammostola rosea)
10. Tarantula hawk (Pepsis limbata)
 
Snow-birding is can be a controversial thing. When temperatures are getting very low, shy water birds are forced to search for the few areas with unfrozen water. Driven my sheer desperation they forage out in the open, prone to predators and the weather alike. They're also much easier to see for birders, but every bit of disturbance can be too much in that situation, which is why I mostly resisted the urge to go and find those birds. Fortunately, I discovered a perfect location that allowed me to watch the water's edge from a save distance.

I took my spotting scope and drove along roads flanked with snow-covered fields. Arriving at my destination, I took out my scope and planted it into the snow. I watched as water pipits chased each other through the vegetation, grey wagtails fluttered around with their bright-yellow undersides, and sandpipers stalked nervously along the water's edge. But the main prize was a jack snipe, a species I hadn't seen for years and previously only in flight. This one was on the ground, probing its bill in the mud to find invertebrates. Unbelievable sightings of great birds, without disturbing them. It was blissful.

Then, a person arrived with two dogs, walking right along the water's edge. When they came closer, they flushed every single sandpiper, snipe, pipit, wagtail and moorhen present, including a few I hadn't even seen. So much for avoiding disturbance I guess.

Birds
106. Eurasian Bullfinch, Pyrrhula pyrrhula
107. Green Sandpiper, Tringa ochropus
108. Grey Wagtail, Motacilla cinerea
109. Jack Snipe, Lymnocryptes minimus
110. Common Snipe, Gallinago gallinago

Mammals
7. Eurasian Red Squirrel, Sciurus vulgaris
 
Vision said:
BIRDS:
149) Eurasian woodcock, Scolopax rusticola

(+9 heard only)

MAMMALS:
6) Red fox, Vulpes vulpes
7) European polecat, Mustela putorius
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The Belgian wintering wallcreeper really really dislikes me. Fifth trip for it this winter (luckily not all involving the long drive from home to there), still nothing! :P

BIRDS:
150) Black redstart, Phoenicurus ochruros
151) White wagtail, Motacilla alba
152) Black woodpecker, Dryocopus martius

(+8 heard only)
 
Coelacanth18 said:
Biweekly update. Highlight is the Snowy Owl - my first ever and a beautiful, rare sight in these parts. A couple of other lifers the past two weeks as well. I ended up getting about 75% of the bird species I was targeting for the month of January, which was around my expectations; most of the remainder were seabirds or species mostly found a fair distance away.

37. Red-necked Grebe (Podiceps grisegna)
38. Pigeon Guillemot (Cepphus columba)
39. Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus)
40. Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)
41. White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys)
42. Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis)
43. Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus)
44. Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus)
45. California Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma californica)
46. Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)
47. Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata)
48. Northern Pintail (Anas acuta)
49. Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)
50. Green-winged Teal (Anas carolinensis)
51. Gadwall (Mareca strepera)
52. Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator)
53. Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris)
54. Pacific Wren (Troglodytes pacificus)

Mammals
4. North American Deer Mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus)
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Biweekly update, not much to add this time:

Birds
55. Varied Thrush (Ixoreus naevius)
56. Golden-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia atricapilla)

Mammals
5. Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus)
6. Western Gray Squirrel (Sciurus griseus)
 
Today, it was quite cold out and a bunch of birds visited my bird feeder, the first ones other than a house finch I saw a few days earlier. There were 15+ house finches, 2 white breasted nuthatches, a female cardinal whose belly was nearly red, as well as juncos, downy woodpeckers, etc.
Unfortunately, there were only 2 birds that I hadn't seen yet this year.

Birds
13. Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)
14. Brown-Headed Nuthatch (Sitta pusilla)
 
at Moonlit Sanctuary

Birds
159. Black-fronted dotterel Elseyornis melanops
 
d1am0ndback said:
Some more birding from the past week or so. Highlights included my lifer Red-necked Grebe, a very rare bird to see in Texas, two Pacific Loons, also a very rare bird to find in Texas, and a Burrowing Owl which is a significant county rarity where it was found.

Birds:
208. Thick-billed Longspur - Rhynchophanes mccownii
209. Lapland Longspur - Calcarius lapponicus
210. Horned Lark - Eremophila alpestris
211. Pacific Loon - Gavia pacifica
212. Red-necked Grebe - Podiceps grisegena
213. Virginia Rail - Rallus limicola
214. Burrowing Owl - Athene cunicularia

Mammals:
11. Nutria- Myocastor coypus
12. Wild Boar- Sus scrofa
Click to expand...

Some more birding from the past week or so. Highlights include a magnificent Painted Redstart from someone's backyard in Houston, Texas and Rusty Blackbirds which should have been in my last update but I forgot to add them. Unfortunately I have inevitably gotten some birds that were heard only as well, those being Red-breasted Nuthatch and Brown-headed Nuthatch.

Quick Update:
I just found a Chestnut-collared Longspur in my photos of the longspur flock I posted about previously

Birds

215. Rusty Blackbird- Euphagus carolinus
216. Painted Redstart - Myioborus pictus
217. Red-vented Bulbul - Pycnonotus cafer
218. Eastern Towhee - Pipilo erythrophthalmus
219. Chestnut-collared Longspur- Calcarius ornatus

Heard Only:
- Red-breasted Nuthatch- Sitta canadensis
- Brown-headed Nuthatch- Sitta pusilla
 
Last edited:
Mehdi said:
31/01/2021 (Estuaire de l'Oued Massa, Morocco)
BIRDS:
95 - Curlew sandpiper, Calidris ferruginea
96 - Kentish plover, Charadrius alexandrinus
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A rather devoid of life try at Tamri (only 27 species there, my second lowest total ever at that spot) was still fun and granted me a few new species for the year list:

14/02/2021 (Plage Abouda, Morocco)
BIRDS:
97 - Audouin's gull, Ichthyaetus audouinii
---
(Embouchure de l'Oued Tamri, Morocco)
98 - Eurasian marsh-harrier, Circus aeruginosus
99 - Northern gannet, Morus bassanus
--
(Road to Imi Ouaddar, Morocco)
100 - Black wheatear
 
Animals Seen today at 15.2.2021

BIRDS

Passerine birds

Common Blackbird

Pigeons

Wood pigeon

Corvidae

Common Magpie

Waterfowl

Mute Swan

Birds of Prey

Common Kestrel
 
Mehdi said:
A rather devoid of life try at Tamri (only 27 species there, my second lowest total ever at that spot) was still fun and granted me a few new species for the year list:

14/02/2021 (Plage Abouda, Morocco)
BIRDS:
97 - Audouin's gull, Ichthyaetus audouinii
---
(Embouchure de l'Oued Tamri, Morocco)
98 - Eurasian marsh-harrier, Circus aeruginosus
99 - Northern gannet, Morus bassanus
--
(Road to Imi Ouaddar, Morocco)
100 - Black wheatear
Click to expand...

I hear thick-knees at night basically every day from my house and each year I only have to look by from my balcony to get them. One was calling especially loud tonight so I decided to take a peek and indeed, there were two foraging not too far:

16/02/2021 (Agadir, Morocco)
BIRDS:
101 - Eurasian thick-knee, Burhinus oedicnemus
 
Great Argus said:
Watched a Sharp-shinned Hawk bushwhacking for sparrows yesterday but he came up empty handed. Was hoping to get some species today but no luck.

66. Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus)

4-66-3-2-0-6
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And the one bird streak continues. :p

Birds:

67. White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)

4-67-3-2-0-6
 
Vision said:
The Belgian wintering wallcreeper really really dislikes me. Fifth trip for it this winter (luckily not all involving the long drive from home to there), still nothing! :p

BIRDS:
150) Black redstart, Phoenicurus ochruros
151) White wagtail, Motacilla alba
152) Black woodpecker, Dryocopus martius

(+8 heard only)
Click to expand...
Did you see the Black woodpecker near the area the Wallcreeper is in?
 
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